Editorial: Beef Farming - A Constant Battle?

A limited badger cull in West Wales was announced earlier this week as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s bovine tuberculosis Eradication Programme.

This news has been welcomed by industry leaders, who have been backing a cull for a number of years. The problem of bovine Tb is so severe that in 2008 12,000 cattle were culled in Wales.

South Korea has reported a second outbreak of foot and mouth disease. So far 15 cattle have been destroyed. All cloven-hoofed animals within a 500 metre radius of the affected farm will also be culled.

In China, an outbreak of foot and mouth in South Xinjiang has been confirmed, where 37 cattle have been destroyed.

In Taiwan, consumers are still unhappy about US beef imports and are demanding the government include prion tests in its inspection to detect any possible bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) contamination of the products.

Irish cattle prices are expected to rise throughout 2010, however despite this delegates at a Teagasc Conference expected over two thirds of producers to continue making a loss from cattle farming.

UK agriculture has again come under fire, with a new report recommending consumers to change their diets - reduce the consumption of meat and dairy products.

As the National Farmers' Union, Dairy UK and other agricultural bodies suggest, world organisations should work with agriculture to help reduce these emissions, instead of proposing unrealistic and dangerous solutions.

Charlotte Johnston

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